Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-03-10

CiAfaI En- 1S.-CONT1NUED.
cit mayn't matter much to you,
lad, he said, very tenderly and rev.
erently, "but it matters Considerable to
Him that's watchin' you from ND aloft,
for If He hadn't some sort of sailin'
orders for you, He never'd "a sot YOU
adr1ft on this here sea of life. Now,
my lad" Captain Flagg continued,
lmpressively, ''only for your overhaul
IN and runnin' down that privateerin'
chap under false colors, I'd have lost
the ships papers, and nigh forty dol
lars In clean cash. to say nothin' of the
good turn you did Polly here, this
mornin', which / amt like to forget.
And, summin' it all up" said the Cap
tain, patting blushing Tad on the
shoulder, 1--WE made up my mind to
give you
"No, SIR" interrupted Tad, with a
decisive shake of the head, II didn't
want any thing for what I've done"
'Io give you-a chance aboard the
"Mary J.,-'to be-e-e-e a gallant
sail-yer bo-o-o-o-y.' Trolling out the
concluding words, which were a re-
miniscence of some old sea-song, in a
deep voice, that might have come from
his cavernous boots, the Captain leaned
back in his chair, and beamed
benevolently upon Tad, who did not
seem quite as much overcome by the
magnitude of the offer as one might at
drst suppose.
"Im ever SO much obliged, Capt'n
Flagg," faltered Tad. conscious that
Polly was waiting for his answer, with
a look of pleased expectancy in her
bright face, '.but I'm afraid''-
THAT you'll be sea-sick? Oh, thats
nothing II get right OVERT, y broke
in Polly, with impetuous assurance
And so well assured did both father and
daughter seem to feel that Tad would
jump at the proffered honor. that Tad
half-uttered refusal died away on his
lips.
''All right. sir, I'll do my best" said
Tad, sturdily; and. slappin@ him jovial
ly on the back. Captain Flagg de-
clared that nobody could do more than
that.
Il began to the very sheerpole my
self,"I explained the Captain. in the
fulness of his heart. land, when | was
your size, was r;ftin' logs to Il mill;
then L pulled bow-Oar in Il gund low,
and after I'd gone two or three trips to
the Banks, L shipped as fo'mast hand
in a cOastin' vessel. / was good
many years workin' myself from the
fo'c'sle to the quarterback, said Capt
ain Flagg. with Il solemn shake of his
head, ''but 1 done it, and now I'm en-
mander and owner of quarter of the
Mary j."
If good Captain Flagg had been
master of two-thousand-ton AL full
rugged clipper, he could not have
spoken with more conscious pride than
in this simple narration. and after re-
garding him with admiring awe. as one
to whom the wonders and mysteries of
the sea were an open book, Tad glanced
curiously around the cabin.
1t was quaint little interior, with a
curtained berth on either side, and
state-room, rather larger than good
sized dry-goods box, at the back of the
steps leading down from the deck,
which was occupied for the present by
Miss Polly Flagg, who was making her
vacation voyage with her father, as a
reward of merit for Improvement in her
studies at the BiXport town school. The
main-mast, which ran up through the
cabin floor and roof about midway, had
nails driven in it on which We're
hung the Captains oil-clothes and Pol
Tvs big sun-bonnet. \ sort of folding
table, attached to the after-part of the
mast by a hinge. could be turned up
out of the way when not in use. A
dingy-faced clock, like Il big letter o,
looked down from the wall. while OPP
posite was Il highly-cOlored Autograph
representing the once famous clipper
"Dreadnought" blowing through very
green seas under very blue sky.
There was no carpet on the floor,
which, however, was scrupulously
clean, while three chairs, in various
stages of dilapidation, composed the
entire stock of furniture: but to Tad it
was one of the most delightful places
Imaginable. and he longed for bedtime
to come, so that he could stow himself
away in the little berth which had been
assigned to him by Captain Flagg.
.'All hans on deckr' gravely an
nounced the Captain. as the city clocks
struck one.
Ephraim, who had been stretched ut
length on one of the lockers, gathered
himself up, and, motioning Tad to fol-
low, climbed leisurely up the COM
panion-way.
..We're goin' to get under way this
afternoon, said Eph, land there's a
tremendous lot of things to do;-let's
see-whatl1 we take holt of firste"
Eph looked listlessly about him, and
then, thrusting his hands in pockets.
leaned against the rail in meditative
attitude. Captain Flagg came forward
and sauinted aloft at the little masthead
pennant, after which he followed the
example of Eph. Polly, recovering the
small dog from the galley, where
George Washington was singing
Methodist hymn as he washed the dim
ner-dishes, sat down with it in her
arms, on a coil of rope. And Tad. look
ing silently on, began to think that the
bardships of sailors life had been
greatly overrated.
By and by Captain Flagg remarked
that he guessed the tide was about
right, and they ID better think of getting
under way. Certain lines were let go
and hauled on board. and in some
mysterious manner, quite incompre-